The Failed Transaction
by GodsWounds
Summary: A Serbian airship appears beside the Leviathan in the middle of the Pacific Ocean ,requesting supplies for their hungry beasts. The Leviathan cannot afford to take time to land,so Deryn is sent to perform a cargo drop. However, Dr.Barlow has other plans that leave Deryn and Alek stranded on a deserted island. But, is it really deserted?
1. The Ajkula

The sound of rushing waves filled Deryn's ears. Deryn slowly opened her eyes and found herself staring out into a huge, glittering ocean. She sat up thinking, "What a nice view…." Deryn frowned. What was she barking doing here?

She attempted to stand up, only to fall down because she was still a bit scrambled in the attic. Deryn swore softly. A low moan came from behind her, Deryn whipped around to find Alek lying face down in the sand.

"Gods wounds, Dylan, be careful." Alek muttered in his unconscious state. All of a sudden, Deryn remembered what had happened.

She had been topside on the Leviathan when suddenly, another airbeast had appeared at their port flank, dangerously close. The airbeast looked like a huge shark; probably had a great white shark life thread in the beastie. The beastie glided alongside the Leviathan with ease. It didn't seem hostile, but the crew was still on edge, waiting for orders from the captain. Deryn had decided to go to the port side, just in case they needed her assistance should they have to act fast. When she reached the port flank, a message lizard scuttled up to her.

The message lizard began to talk with Dr. Barlow's commanding tone, "Good morning, Mr. Sharp. I assume that you have noticed our fellow airship by now. They have sent us a message that they have been travelling a long time and their food supply for their creatures is almost empty and they have requested our assistance. I need you to transfer some supplies over as quickly as possible. Please report to the bridge for further instruction."

Deryn was puzzled. Normally, if another airbeast requested assistance they would land, and the boffins would negotiate over what to do. However, that took a lot of time and energy; obviously it was of upmost importance that they not waste that time. Deryn sighed, wishing she knew what the barking spiders was going on, then she climbed down the ratlines and made her way to the bridge.

When Deryn entered the bridge, the first thing she saw was three, large crates bound  
together by rope. Dr. Barlow was standing right next to them with Alek by her  
side. Bovril and the lady boffin's loris were on top of the crates softly  
chattering. If Deryn was confused before, she was even more confused now. Why  
was Alek here and what were these crates for? Deryn looked at the lady boffin for an explanation.  
"Oh good, Mr. Sharp , you're here. These crates are the supplies you will be  
delivering to the Ajkula."

"The Ajkula, ma'am?"

"Ah yes, a Serbian airship, one of their best ones. They have told us that they have travelled a great distance and their supplies are low. We will be providing some supplies, but our course cannot slow down in the slightest, so you are going to deliver it, ." Dr. Barlow quickly explained. "Alek will be accompanying you." Deryn was sure she hadn't heard right. If they could not waste the time to land, she was going to have to perform a cargo drop, which was extremely difficult. She needed an experienced airman to assist her with this one, not some daft prince. Deryn shook her head, "Ma'am, no offense to you Alek, but I would be better off with Newkirk helping me. If you need me to do a cargo drop, I need an airman with me."

"Of course, , I understand, but Alek needs to be there for translation."

"Translation? We don't need to communicate for a cargo drop, ma'am."

"Correct, but this is more than just a simple cargo drop. This is a Serbian airship, if I must remind you , we are in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, far away from Serbia, this airship is rather suspicious. It also has not been answering our messages that we have tried to send it. I need you and Alek to infiltrate the ship and figure out why they are here. The cargo drop is merely a front." Deryn stood there, mouth agape. She wanted her to infiltrate another airship? She could do a lot of things, tying knots and reading semaphore flags with expertise, but spying and inflitrating? She had not expected this, much barking less Alek coming with her. But orders were orders, she would do it. She could only hope nothing would go wrong.


	2. An Awkward Situation

Alek and Dylan were ready to go. They arrived at the cargo bay right on time, fully prepared to infiltrate the airship. They both had on fabricated chameleon suits that would help them blend in with their surroundings and help them move around easily. Alek shivered, appalled by the fact he was wearing a living thing and also because he was a bit nervous. What if something went wrong? What if he just got in Dylan's way? Alek took a deep breath; asking what ifs wasn't helping. He was still a bit conflicted about spying around a Serbian airship for the British, but he felt like a waste of hydrogen and needed to do something!

He glanced at Dylan and saw the boy's determination and strength plainly in his expression. It comforted Alek to know that Dylan would be there with him. The boy had always shone out in the toughest situations. He was sure that with Dylan there, nothing could go wrong.

"You ready, you daft prince?" Dylan teased. "More than ever." Alek replied as they approached the cargo. Two of the crates were stacked and ready to go, but one was open and empty. Newkirk, Mr. Rigby, and Dr. Barlow were standing beside it. Dylan spoke up, "Ma'am, might I ask why the crates aren't ready?"

"They are ready, Mr. Sharp. You and Alek will be stowing away in this crate." Alek was shocked, he thought that Dylan and him were going to drop the cargo then land on the airship. Dylan obviously had the same idea, "Wouldn't it just be easier for Alek and I to perform the drop?"

"Unfortunately, if you dropped off onto the airship, it would be far too noticeable. This is much safer and will help you stay undetected. It is a tight fit, but I'm sure you can manage." Dr. Barlow smiled, gesturing for them to get in. Alek sighed, this was going to be incredibly uncomfortable. Dylan stepped forward first and got into the box, he curled up on his side, and pushed his back to the edge of the box. Alek got in next, he curled up on his side as well, but there was no room for his legs. He curled his legs up and put one over Dylan's leg and the other one in between the boy's legs. Dylan gasped with surprise and Alek apologized, "Sorry, my legs won't fit."

"Aye, it's alright." Though it didn't sound like Dylan was alright. Dr. Barlow appeared above them, "Good luck." With that, she closed the top and Alek was plunged into utter darkness. The only thing he could hear was Dylan's and his own breathing. Dylan's sounded harder and heavier than usual. "You alright, Dylan?"

"Aye, just a wee bit cramped in here." Dylan's voice was higher than usual, almost like a girl's. Alek felt sorry for the boy. He must be claustrophobic or something. Trying to reassure the boy Alek whispered, "We'll be there in no time." He felt a slight shift as though Dylan was nodding. Silence continued and Alek began to feel a cramp in the leg between Dylan's legs, he moved it higher to ease the pain…..


	3. A Secret Revealed

As soon as Deryn felt Alek's leg move between hers, she started to panic. He's gonna find out! She couldn't adjust her legs, she couldn't move. She knew that she ought to struggle more, but when she felt how close she was to Alek, her heart started pounding. "Not now!" Deryn thought, "Bum-rag! No unsoldierly nonsense!" She couldn't stop it though, her heart continued to beat wildly, and suddenly she wanted Alek to know. She wanted him to love her and kiss her, touch her. She felt his leg shift upward… "Alek…."

Alek snapped his leg back down and she heard him gasp. Deryn wished she could see his face; she was sure it had a look of horror on it now. She felt him shift and suddenly his hands were on her breasts. Deryn held her breath. "Gods wounds, it can't be true." She heard Alek softly say. He slowly lifted his hands away. "Alek, I wanted to tell you, I really did. I just couldn't bring myse—" But Deryn couldn't say anymore, it was too much, being this close to him; she broke down in a sob. Blisters, she couldn't stop! "Why is this happening?" Deryn thought.

"Dylan…..are you a girl?" Alek quietly asked. Of course, leave it to the barking prince to ask the most obvious question in the world! Deryn choked off another sob and put her arms over her head, "Yes…please don't tell anyone." Deryn felt like a ninny, being so unsoldierly and crying.

"You've kept all my secrets, so I'll keep yours…but why didn't you tell me, Dylan? Why don't you trust me!" Alek sounded angry. His anger produced another sob racking through her body. "Alek, I do trust you, I was just too afraid. You said that I was the boy you would have wanted to be…..I didn't want to disappoint you or make you think less of me."

"You really thought I would be that weak? Just, just, don't talk to me anymore! I don't want to hear your pathetic excuses and lies!" Alek yelled. Deryn felt like her insides were crumbling and her heart was falling into a deep abyss. A horrible thought came to her and she had to know if it was true, "Do you hate me?" Deryn softly whispered, not wanting to hear the answer. "I don't know, Dylan, I don't know" Alek sighed.

The air in the tight space was now heavy and uneasy. A long silence filled the tiny area, Deryn couldn't breathe, she didn't want to; she just wanted to die. Then, she felt the box come to a stop; she hadn't even noticed it had been moving. She heard men shouting in a different language, probably Serbian. The crate was jostling around and then they were dropped, she heard a door slamming shut and the voices faded away. "I think we're here." Deryn said under her breath. Alek didn't answer, so Deryn slowly untangled her legs from his and kicked the top of the crate open.

It was mostly dark outside the crate, except for a tiny light hanging in the middle of the ceiling. Deryn stepped over Alek and out of the crate. She turned back to help him out. "Alek, come on we're here. Get out." Alek groaned, but stayed still. "Come on, Dummkopf. We haven't got all day." Alek turned to look up at her, the anger and sadness glimmering in his eyes, "Leave me alone. Go do your disgusting country's dirty work; I'm not going with the likes of you." Now, Deryn was angry. She was tired of his complaining and back talk; she wasn't going to take it anymore.

"You bum-rag covered in clart! I thought you were a great guy, but I guess I was wrong. I guess you were just some barking, lazy prince that couldn't do anything useful to save your own damn life, after all!" With this, Alek jumped up, ready to throw a punch, but something stopped him, and he dropped his hands. Deryn took the opportunity; she punched him hard, straight in his gut. He doubled over, coughing. "What can't hit a girl back?" Deryn kicked him in the face, throwing him back against the crate. She was about to kick him again when she heard voices at the door.

She threw herself against Alek and they both tumbled into the crate. The door opened and a sliver of light threw itself across the crate. The voices got closer and closer. She heard the crates next to them being opened. It was only a matter of time before they got to their crate. Deryn shot Alek a glance of warning and jumped up. She grabbed Alek and they made a run for the door. She heard the men shouting behind them, "Uljezi!" Deryn didn't need Alek to translate for her to know that whatever they said wasn't good. They made it to the door and threw it open.

Deryn smelled salt and could feel the wind on her face; they had gone topside. Now what were they gonna do? Jump over the side? Deryn looked around and found exactly what she needed, a pair of gliding wings. The airship was pretty close to the sea; close enough that she could jump and land safely with gliding wings. "Alek, follow me and stay close." Alek nodded and she took off towards the gliding wings.

They scrambled over the ratlines and the irregular bumps of the airship. Deryn reached the gliding wings and strapped herself in. Alek stumbled next to her and Deryn cursed softly. Blisters, she had forgotten about Alek, this would not be a soft landing. But now there was no time to create another plan. She grabbed Alek under the arms and prepared to take off. Alek resisted, "Dylan, what are you doing? Are you trying to get us killed?" Deryn pushed harder but to no avail.

"Move it, you daft prince! You see another way to safety?" Deryn yelled over the wind. She gathered her strength and pushed on last time. Alek slide off the flank, pulling Deryn with him. Alek yelled something, but Deryn could not hear him over the roaring wind. They fell, spiraling down as the wings tried to catch them. Deryn's head was spinning and she couldn't tell up from down. She blacked out, never even feeling their impact.


	4. Lost

Alek stirred as he heard someone call his name in the distance.

"Stop!" Alek thought. He didn't want to leave this safe, warm place he was in. He just wanted to stay and do nothing; no responsibilities and no problems to deal with. However, the voice kept calling, undeterred by Alek's reluctance. It grew louder and louder until Alek could no longer withstand it. Alek's eyes jumped open . Bright, searing light blinded him. He blinked to clear his vision, then Dylan's face came into view. His face was so close, only a few centimeters apart. Alek scrambled backwards, kicking up the sand into Dylan's face. Dylan softly cursed and drew his arm across his eyes.

"Blisters, calm down, ya daft prince!" Dylan growled. His voice sounded hoarse as if he had been screaming for hours on end. He put his arm down. Alek peered into his face; something in the back of his mind told him something was wrong with Dylan. As he stared at his unusually thin, petite face; he remembered. Dylan was a girl. Alek's earlier rage overwhelmed him again, and he looked away from Dylan, if that was even her name. He couldn't bear to look at her. She had lied to him!

He clambered to his feet, unsteady for a moment. He regained his balance and began to walk away. He heard scuttling behind him as Dylan followed. He suppressed his urge to turn around and scream at her. Instead, he quietly said, "Go away." He continued to walk forward. The footsteps behind him came to a stop and he heard a slight thump as if she had fallen. Concerned, he turned around to find Dylan on the ground with her head between her hands. He heard a soft sound and realized she was crying. Only once had he seen her cry, when she had told him about her father. He realized how important he must be to her to evoke such sadness. He suddenly knew why she couldn't tell him. She was in love with him.

All of his anger melted away, and bewilderment took its place. He valued her friendship more than anything, but he couldn't do it. He is a prince and she is a commoner. He would have to run a mile, but he just couldn't abandon their friendship; especially now when they had no idea where they were! Alek walked towards Dylan and put his hand on her back.

"Come on, Dylan. Let's figure out how to get back." Alek calmly said. Dylan looked up at him with puffy, red eyes and moved her lips, trying to say something. "What?" Alek asked.

"Deryn." She said, finally finding her voice. Alek cocked an eyebrow and Dylan said, "My name." Alek understood and nodded, glad to finally know her real name. He offered her his hand and she took it. He pulled her up to her feet. She swayed slightly, and Alek grabbed her to keep her steady. She nodded her thanks, and pulled away from him. She walked towards the shore, looking at the sky. "I can't tell where we are without the stars, but it's about mid-afternoon. We'll just have to wait." With that, Deryn turned around and advanced to the middle of the island.

"Where are you going?" Alek inquired, curious.

"Well, we gotta find some shelter, ya ninny. Not to mention, we have to figure out if there's someone or something here that can help us." Deryn continued walking and Alek followed. They walked for what felt like a half hour to Alek. Sweat had started to bead up on his forehead and it was starting to drip down.

"It's quite hot. We must be somewhere near the equator." Alek voiced his thoughts out loud.

"We must have drifted south. Our ship was headed towards North America, not south." Deryn replied, panting from the heat. Thousands of animal sounds echoed throughout the jungle as if responding to Deryn's voice. The jungle was hot and humid as though it was about to rain. Alek had no doubt that it would at some point. He looked up at the canopy of trees above him and made out a huge snake coiled on the branches above him. Alek quickened his pace. Alek looked around some more and discovered many beautiful flowers. He once thought he saw a jaguar stalking through the trees, but when he looked again, nothing was there. He figured it must have been a trick of the light, and the exhaustion that was slowly starting to wear on him.

Alek looked back in front of him, right in time to see a branch fast approaching his face. It was too late to dodge it , whacked him right in the mouth. Alek stumbled backwards from the blow. It had cut him on his lip, and he tasted blood in his mouth. Alek glared forward. Deryn was slapping branches out of her way; whipping right back into place.

"Be more careful, would you? A branch caught me in the face." Alek hollered.

"Sorry, your royal princeliness! I have to get these branches out of the way somehow!" Deryn yelled back. Alek grumbled, but otherwise continued forward; wary of the branches Deryn whipped back. He thought he saw a glimmer of metal to his right. Alek stopped for a second and looked again. Sure enough, he saw a little piece of scrap metal hanging on a branch. Alek picked it up and inspected closer. It looked like a small part of one of a walker's pistons…..

"What are you doing, ya daft prince?" He heard Deryn call.

"Dyl-Deryn, you should come see this." Alek motioned for Deryn to come back. Deryn tromped over to him.

"What's that?"

"I believe it's a part of a piston from a walker." Alek answered.

"What would one of those Clanker contraptions be doing here?" Deryn asked.

"No clue," Alek was thoroughly puzzled. "Let's check it out."


	5. The Clanker Base

_Hey guys! So sorry I haven't updated until now! I just had a major writer's block. Thankfully, I believe I've gotten over it. I feel pretty inspired right now. Anyways, please enjoy and leave reviews, so I can improve my story for ya! I'm open to suggestions as well. ^^_

Deryn followed Alek into the green, lush jungle. As she stared at his back, thoughts from what had just occurred overcame her. Alek had found out. He had really found out that she was a girl, and he was…really angry. He was so angry that she was afraid he would never talk to her again. The thought of him silently hating her almost brought tears to her eyes. She hadn't been this dead upset since, since….her da died. How could Alek have this effect on her? Why couldn't she escape these feelings? It was so unsoldierly!

"Calm down." Deryn thought to herself, "It won't be any use if you go as barking mad as Tesla." Deryn took a couple of deep breaths, and shut off her thoughts of Alek as much as possible. She would NOT let him get to her like this! She instead, focused her thoughts of what they might find. A Clanker machine on an island in the middle of the Pacific? It was ridiculous. Why would it be here? She just hoped it had nothing to do with the war and it had just accidently been dropped here. If not, the Leviathan might be in a great deal of trouble. Deryn stumbled on a tree root, and swore under her breath. Now she was a clumsy oaf as well as a stupid girl twisting her skirts at a village dance. Deryn could not be in a worse mood than she already was.

Just then, she and Alek came to the edge of a clearing in the jungle. She couldn't see past Alek, but she knew something was wrong. Alek had gone rigid and started backing up slowly.

"What's wrong?" Deryn whispered. But before he answered, Deryn caught a glimpse of what was past the clearing. They had come upon a huge Clanker base, and it was clearly not abandoned.

Deryn saw the trails of smoke rising like twisting snakes into the sky. It was some sort of factory. They must have been making new Clanker contraptions of all sorts in there, but that wasn't what scared her the most. Sticking straight up in the center of the clearing was a huge cannon. It wasn't a Tesla cannon though. It looked like an actual ship's cannon. The size it was, she hoped it couldn't shoot anything out of there because if the Leviathan came anywhere close, it would tear the giant beastie apart.

"It's a walker base." Alek said. "It's designed to create new walkers and other contraptions of war." Deryn looked back up at the cannon.

"And what is that contraption there? Please tell me it can't shoot anything out of it." Deryn looked at Alek.

"I have no idea; I've never seen anything like it before. I wish Klopp was here, he could have told us something about it." Alek paused, thinking, "If it could shoot something, it would most likely tear the Leviathan right out of the sky."

"Blisters. They'll probably come back for us as well, knowing how barking important a prince you are. We have to warn the captain somehow!" Deryn started to pace back and forth. How could they possibly fix this catastrophe? It was getting out of hand. Deryn looked back at the base and saw the solution. At the other end of the camp was a wireless tower. If they could somehow get there and contact , who was aboard the ship, and have him warn the captain, then maybe they'd be able to avoid this problem.

"Alek," Deryn paused, "We have to get to that wireless tower and contact Mr. Tesla."

Alek's eyes widened, "Are you barking mad? There are tons of walkers around here that can crush us where we stand!" Alek met Deryn's eyes.

"We have to do something! You said that you loved the Leviathan!" Deryn yelled.

"I said that to Dylan, not Deryn!" Alek spun around and started to walk away. Deryn stared at his back as he walked farther away. Sadness began to swell inside her again, making her feel like her organs were shriveling up.

"Not this again!" Deryn thought as tears threatened to spill out of her eyes. "I have to remain calm. I-I have to stay focused—" Her thoughts were cut off as an uncontrollable sob of anger and despair racked through her body and she fell to her knees.

"Alek," Deryn whispered. "Please, please stop. Please come back." But Alek didn't hear her desperate pleas as he continued to stride forward. Deryn silently watched as he disappeared from her view into the flourishing, thick foliage. She sat there on her knees for a few minutes, soundless. The wildlife continued to chirp, growl, rustle, and caw around her. Slowly, she rose to her feet and wiped the tears from her eyes. She couldn't dawdle around like a clart-filled ninny! She had a mission to carry out and no one, not even that clart-covered bum-rag, absolutely daft prince, could stop her! And with that thought set into her mind, Deryn marched to the edge of the clearing and began to make a plan.


	6. Alek's Blunder

_Hey people! Sorry again for not updating sooner. I just hadn't thought about it until now. Anyways, this chapter is just a nice, short, and sweet one. Please comment and give me some feedback. Thanks and enjoy! ^^_

Alek stormed through the jungle, crunching the undergrowth beneath his feet. He debated whether or not to go back. How could she expect him to risk his life for the Leviathan? It was insane! There was no way they would've been able to get to the wireless tower without being caught. But, he couldn't just leave her there….who knew what crazy scheme she would come up with? If anything, he knew that Deryn would not hesitate to save the Leviathan, even if it cost her, her life. He should go back and make sure she didn't do something rash, but he just couldn't look at her right now. She had lied to him for so long. It pained him to see her still acting like the strong boy who had become his best friend, ready to storm into a walker base with no thought to save her ship.

He wanted his best friend back, but he knew that wouldn't happen. She was in love with him, and he'd have to run a mile because he was a prince and she was just a commoner….but, still, he couldn't get her out of his mind. No matter how angry he was, he couldn't stop worrying about her. What would he do if she went and died on him? Alek sighed and sat down on the damp ground. Sweat poured down his back as the hot, humid atmosphere suffocated him. He looked up into the thick canopy, breathing hard. As the birds cawed and the monkeys chattered, thoughts of his adventures on the Leviathan were brought to mind.

In almost all of them, Deryn was there; supporting him though every trial he faced. She had even come to Istanbul, not on orders or as a soldier, but as a friend to help and support him. And here he was, sitting, doing nothing, while Deryn was risking her life to rescue her crew. Alek dropped his head to his chest, and put a hand to his forehead. "Gods wounds, what am I doing?" He groaned as he stood up. He looked around, trying to find the direction the clearing was in. He quickly located the broken branches and trail he'd left behind. He retraced his footsteps back to the edge of the base grounds.

"Deryn?" Alek called out when he didn't see her. No reply responded except for the buzzing of insects and other jungle life sounds. He began to panic as all his earlier anger evaporated into thin air.

"Deryn? Where are you?" He called out again as he searched the small area they had just been in. He swore softly.

He had just been here a minute ago and that dummkopf had already left! He quietly snuck to the edge of the jungle and peered across the base, searching for any sign of Deryn. He saw a few tracks skirting around the edge of the Clanker base and jungle, but no other signs of her were eminent.

Alek quickly ran down to the end of the tracks; they led back into the jungle. He wasn't able to make out anymore of the trail after that, but he figured she would be heading for the wireless tower. She must be travelling around the edge of the clearing, hiding in the trees while still keeping sight of the tower. However, the trees abruptly ended halfway to the tower. How would she get there without being detected? Alek's heart began to race and he picked up his pace. She would get caught if she tried to get to the tower! He had to stop her before something bad happened to them. He'd convince her to stop and think about it logically. They'd come up with some other plan to save the Leviathan. However, as Alek continued to run, he had this sinking feeling that she'd never listen to him, not after the stunt he just pulled. She'd never trust him again. He'd completely failed Deryn. She was his best friend; even if she was in love with him, he couldn't just forget everything they'd done together and the friendship they'd built. Alek stumbled through the trees, tripping over roots and pushing through the branches that blocked his path. The branches scratched his face, arms, and legs, but he kept running. He had to reach her before she did something completely idiotic. He couldn't lose her, not now. Not after everything they'd been through. Not before he could apologize. He wasn't going to let her go. Never. And then, Alek realized…..he was in love with Deryn Sharp.


End file.
